Dear No One
by Hiphopangel1221
Summary: She thought she wasn't ever gonna see her mom or her group again...until SHE came along. Rated T *Completed*
1. Find Sophia

Dear No One

Chapter 1: Find Sophia

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Except for my OC of course. So I decided to put this idea out because I liked this one better than my last. It's also a test run on changing my writing style. So Let me know what I need to improve on, and what you liked. I really do appreciate those kind of reviews. So here's take 2 of a walking dead story. Hope you guys like it :)

* * *

Sophia began making her way back to the highway. Her mom and the rest of the group were there probably waiting for her. Rick, the group leader, left her in a small opening in the creek. All she wants is to be back with her mom.

As she's walking, a small growl is let out. She stops in her tracks.

_Grrrr_

The tears start to flood down her rose cheeks. Her body shakes in fear. She turns to face the walker walking towards her. This is it. She's never going to see her mom again. The walker went to lunges at the pre-teen, making her eyes close.

_Thump!_

Sophia opened her eyes to see the walker on the ground. There's a small hole through his head. Before she could react, someone grabbed her arm and began running.

"We have to get out of here before it gets dark." The stranger said.

All Sophia could see is the back of her head. Curly dark hair, light brown skin, a rose located on her right shoulder back Who was this woman?

{_}

The mysterious woman turns on the lantern , revealing her sleeping quarters. Sophia stands there, observing the unfamiliar territory. A sleeping bag in one corner, while a pile of neatly placed supplies were in the other.

"You can sleep in the sleeping bag, I have an extra one." The woman said, handing her a bowl. Sophia looks at it and it just looks like regular chicken noodle soup.

"Thank you." She quietly said.

The woman gave a nod before sitting on the ground. "In the morning, we can start finding your mom."

Sophia gave a nod, and sits on the sleeping bag. She was hesitant to touch the soup, since after all it was from a stranger The woman had a branch in her hand, along with a knife. Making a spear? "What's your name?"

The woman continues to shed a branch with her knife. "Lyla."

"Have you been by yourself?" Sophia asked.

"Yeah, it's better that way."

"Don't you get lonely?"

Lyla stops and finally looks up. Her face kind of softens, and she gives a sigh. "Sometimes, but I like not being told what to do or being held back." She answered. "Finish up your soup, and get a good nights rest."

Sophia looks at her, holding contact with her brown eyes. Neither of them breaking contact nor moving a muscle. Finally, she gives a nod, and finishes the dish. The light gets dimmed, and Lyla continues on her small project.

Sophia couldn't help but watch her. The woman who saved her continues showing her resting face. Her expression was rugged, but soft. She kind of reminded her of someone but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Her eye lids grew heavy making her eyes come to a close.

{_}

The next morning, Sophia opens her eyes and sees an empty place. The spot where Lyla once was is now empty with a closed sleeping bag. Was everything that happened the day before a dream?

She sat up, and noticed a note along with granola bar and apple.

_Sorry It isn't a 5 star meal, kid. I'll be back soon. Stay here!_

Sophia grabbed the granola bar and began eating it. Now that there's daylight she could get a better look of the room. Hardwood floors with eggshell walls. Supplies scattered in piles on the floor. Weapons, first aid, and food. Each pile neatly organized.

The sound of the knob jiggling made her eyes shoot wards the door, and fill with fear. The door opened and Lyla appeared. Her guns attached to her body. Rifle on her back and two pistols at each side. A black duffle bag hangs from her shoulder.

Lyla places her things down and finally makes contact. "Morning, Kid."

"Sophia,"

"What?"

"My name is Sophia." She informed.

Lyla looks at her for a moment then loads her bag with the supplies. "You ready?"

Sophia nods. "Yes."

The two leave the place after Lyla finishes packing her bag. The walk was silent at first. Neither of them really making eye contact either. Lyla looks at Sophia and breaks the silence. "Where was your mom when you got separated?"

"The highway."They were brought back to the creek.

"The highway shouldn't be far from here." Lyla pointed.

"Where's your mom and dad?"

The facial expression made, said the question caught Lyla off guard. Is it a sensitive subject? Or has no one asked her that before? "They're dead."

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"You know you ask a lot of questions?"

"Sophia looks down at the ground. "Sorry."

She sighs. "I have a younger sister but I don't know where she is."

"Are you ever gonna look for her?

She shrugs. "Maybe; I just have to figure out where she could be."

"Well...I'm an only child if that helps."

Lyla looks at her in confusion. "How's that suppose to help?"

She shrugs. "I-I don't know. I just thought it might."

A small smirk creeps onto Lyla's lips. "Well it didn't, but thanks."

Sophia noticed the smirk and tries to hide her smile. It is the first time, since yesterday, that she's seen another face other than a resting face.

Sophia is forced to a stop by an arm. "Why are-"

"Shh..." Lyla looks around, and slowly pulls out her pistol. A growl is heard nearby. The two turn to see a walking come in their direction. Sophia hooks herself onto Lyla's hip in fear. Lyla points her gun; removing the safety.

_Ping_

The walker falls to the ground, and stops moving. Sophia surprised she didn't hear a loud gun shot. "Why wasn't the gun loud?"

"A while back, I raided a house with a nice gun stash. It had a few silencers included; so I took them." Lyla said. She looks down to see Sophia still attached to her. "Have you ever killed a walker, or at least tried?"

Sophia shook her head in response.

"I think you should learn just in case this happens again."She bends down to Sophia's height.

"Mom never let me touch a gun."

"This will have to be our little secret, won't it?" She placese Sophia's fingers in the right position. "Always hold the gun with two hands to get a good grip on it. Keep one finger on the trigger.

Sophia watched as Lyla directs her fingers in the right position on the pistol.

"Always make sure the safety is removed or else you can't shoot. Point it at your target." They pointed the handgun at a tree. "You ready to shoot?"

Sophia nods. Both of their fingers pull the trigger, shooting the bullet into the bark of the tree. "I did it!"

Lyla's face lit up as she did Sophias. They made contact , and saw a full blown smile on Lyla's lips. Her teeth were nice,straight and bright. She had a beautiful smile. The smile soon faded and she rose to her feet. "Let's keep moving before we lose the sun."

Sophia grins before walking with Lyla.


	2. Welcome

Dear No One

Chapter 2: Welcome

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING but my OC

* * *

They reached the graveyard that use to be a highway. Sophia looks around for the big RV. "They left without me."

"Actually I think they were expecting you." Lyla points to the sign and supplies Sophia's name on it.

_Sophia, If you're reading this, then we've moved to a farm not far from here. You can either follow the map or wait until we come back for you. _It read.

"Do you know how to read a map?" Lyla asked.

Sophia shook her head.

"I guess they thought you were gonna turn into Dora the Explorer and read this map." Lyla sighted. She places the duffle bag down and reaches into the nearest car.

Sophia tilts her head in confusion. "What are you doing?"

Lyla pops back out with a backpack. "Your're gonna take your supplies back to your mom. Can't just leave them here."

Sophia takes the bag and places the supplies inside.

"Let's find a car." The two walk down the graveyard to come across a black 2009 camaro. "Now this is my type of car."

Lyla walks to the driver's side, and no one was inside. She opens the door, and notices no keys in the ignition. "Guess I'm hot wiring."

"What's that?" Sophia asked, sitting in the passenger seat.

"It's something a little girl your age shouldn't be doing." She connected the two wires,and the car comes to life. Lyla places her duffle bag in the backseat. "Let's go find your mom."

The car ride is silent. Lyla driving at 60 mph in the direction of the farm. Sophia watched as the trees went by.

Sophia looks back the duffle bag. "Where are you going after you drop me off?"

Lyla shrugs. "I dunno, hopefully away from this crappy place or maybe I'll start looking for my sister. "

"Maybe you can stay with us."

"Groups aren't my thing."Lyla glances at the map and turns the wheel. "I don't play well with others."

"Well you played fine with me." Sophia said with a small smile.

Lyla looks over at the young girl and smirks. "I guess, I did."

The car comes to a stop in front of a gate.

"You ready?"

Sophia smiles and nods.

The car put into park, and Lyla gets out to open the gate. Once she closes the gate, she drives down the long driveway. The sun was down and darkness took over. A large group was outside, just doing their own thing.

"What's your mom's name?"

"Carol." Sophia answered.

The car is put into park, and heads look in their direction. Lyla turns off the car and glances at Sophia. "Wait until you see her to get out."

"Okay."

Lyla opens the car door, and exits the car. "I'm looking for a woman named Carol."

A pale woman with short grey hair steps forward with a man with dark brown hair not to far behind. She looks worried and hesitant. "I'm Carol."

"I think I may have someone who belongs to you. "

Sophia opens the passenger door. "Mom?!"

Carol's eyes fill with joy and tears. She runs to the young girl, embracing her.

The man approaches the trio. "Where'd you find her?"

Lyla's eyes look at the man. "Found her in the woods. She was about to be walker food until I came in."

"Thank you!" Carol said, finally looking up at Lyla.

"No problem."

"Mom, Can she stay?" Sophia looked into Lyla's brown eyes.

"Sophia-"

"Yeah, Stay the night. It's way too dark to be traveling alone." The man offers.

"Thanks but I should get going."

Sophia wraps her arms around Lyla."Please? You don't have anywhere to go."

"We insist." Carol adds.

Lyla looks at Sophia. Neither one breaks the contact nor moves a muscle. Her faces softens at the sight of the young girls eyes. "Fine but only just for the night."

Sophia smiles, and walks back towards the others with Carol.

"I'm Rick by the way." He extends his hand out.

Lyla looks at it, and connects their hands. "Lyla."

Rick escorts her back towards the group. Everyone happy to see young Sophia healthy and alive. "Everyone this is Lyla. She's the one who found Sophia."

Lyla scans each of their faces as Rick reads off their names. She stops at the guy named Shane. Her jaw tightens, while he just smirks at her.

"...And this is Daryl Dixon."

Her eyes travels to the last person. He has short shaggy brown hair and blues eyes. He looked rugged and possibly short tempered. "Nice to meet you."

Daryl looks at her, scanning each of her features. He lets out a small grunt before walking away.

"Don't worry about him. He's been searching for her for a few days."

She nods. "I understand;I'd feel the same."

"Where are you from?" Rick asked, leading her away from the group.

"I'm from the north, but I moved down here a few months ago for work."She answered.

"So you're by yourself."

She nods.

"Well, You're welcome to stay past tonight. No one should be going through this alone." Rick said.

"Thanks, but I'd rather go through this alone; No offense."

"None taken. I'm not gonna force you to stay if you don't want to."

* * *

Everyone is resting in their tents except for Lyla; She was carving a small apple. She had a few hours before the sun rised, which is when she was going to leave. She wanted to move on and continue to survive this thing in hopes that civilization will be restored.

"What are you doing up?"

She turned her gaze to see Shane standing there. "Minding my own; Maybe you should do the same."

"Just trying to be nice." He began to walk away from the guest.

"Why'd you do it?"

Shane stops and looks at the brown eyed stranger. "Excuse me."

"Why'd you shoot that guy's knee caps the other night."

He chuckled, and shifted. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Your body language says otherwise."

He makes his way towards the steps of the house. He got face to face with Lyla. "Now where would you get a lie like that?"

"I saw it when I was in town geting supplies."She said; not at all phased by Shane's intimidation.

"I don't know what you saw, but you need to follow your own advice."He loudly whispered.

"You're a shady man, Shane." She said; eating a piece of her apple. Shane walks away from her. "And Shane?"

He turns back to look at her.

"Approach me like that again, and I'll shove this knife where the sun doesn't shine."

Shane just walks away, leaving her by herself.

The sun began to rise, along with the people in the camp. Lyla hadn't moved from her spot nor has she slept.

"Morning." Carol greeted.

"Morning."

"How'd you sleep?" She asked.

Lyla shrugs. "Fine; how about yourself?"

"Better now that I have Sophia."

"Glad I helped with that." Lyla said.

Carol smiled. "Would you like some breakfast?"

Lyla shook her head. "I'm okay, but I better get going."

"Lyla!" Sophia said, running to her.

"What's up, Kid?"

"So are you staying with us?" She asked.

Lyla looked down, then back at Sophia. "Afraid not; I have to get going."

"No!" Sophia hugged onto Lyla. Lyla didn't know what to do or say. She looked at Carol with a pleading look.

"Soph, let's get breakfast started." Carol said grabbing her arms. The two walked away.

Lyla walks back to her car, and opens the driver door.

"So you're just gonna leave?"

She looked to see who it is. Daryl Dixon. "Yeah, it's time for me to move on."

"You just came to drop her off?" He asked.

" Look, I didn't return her to be apart of a group; I did it to return her back to her mom, where she belongs."

"Just know you're breaking that girl's heart." With that said, he walked away.

She sat in the driver's seat and closed the door. She glances at the back of Daryl's head. Why did he care?After all they did just meet not even a day ago. She did build a small bond with Sophia as she was bringing her home. "Shit!"

The car door swings open, and she reaches for the bag in the backseat.

Daryl looks back to see Lyla with her duffle bag hanging from her shoulder. He was trying to hide his 'I told you so' smile.

As she walked by Daryl, She noticed his hidden smile. "Don't."


	3. Making Nice

Dear No One

Chapter 3: Making Nice

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING but my OC

A/N: Hi Everyone. I would love to give a special shoutout to everyone who has favorited and/or followed Dear No One. It's really appreciated. It's good to know that it is being read by people! Anyways, I think I might update once a week considering I have some of the chapters already written out for you guys. Maybe I'll update once a week, I don't know yet. Let me know what you think of this chapter or the story as a whole.

Enough of my blabbering, Here's chapter 3.

* * *

Lyla opened her tent to see Carol and Lori hanging damp laundry. If she's gonna stay with this group, she might as well pull her own weight, right?

She walks over to the ladies. "Need any help?"

"Yes Please."Carol replies with a smile. "Thanks again for bringing Sophia back."

"It's no problem. Every child should be with their parent at a time like this."

"So, were you out there all by yourself this whole time?" Lori asked.

Lyla nods. "Yep, but it wasn't bad. It gives you time to think and reflect."

"I couldn't imagine."Carol comments.

Lyla looks over to see Daryl walking by. He meets her gaze and she quickly looks away. "It's just weird bein around people."

"I bet." Carol said, watching the contact between Lyla and Daryl.

Rick walks over towards the trio.

"Lyla, Can we talk?"

"Yeah." She places the article of clothing onto the line then follows Rick.

"How do you like it so far?"

She shrugs. "It's alright, just have to get use to having others around."

"I'm glad you're getting settled in. I just want you to know you're on guard tonight with Daryl." He said.

"That's fine." She said. The thought of having other's lives in her hands made her feel uneasy."Rick?"

"Yeah?"

"I know I've been here for less than a day, but I think you should watch out for Shane."

The two stop, and Rick shifts his weight. "Why do you say that?"

"He comes off like a really shady person and I usually have a feeling about those kind of people."She said.

"I assure you Shane is harmless, Lyla."

"So isn't a dog before it growls at you and bites." She retorts.

"I'll keep that in mind." He said, before walking away.

"Hey Lyla!" A voice called.

She turns to see Glenn walking towards her. "Hi."

"Nice car you have."He points to the black vehicle.

"Ever drive one?"

"Yeah but they stripped it for parts." He said, changing his small smile to a grimace.

"Well, I found it on the highway with no keys. If you know how to hotwire, then you can have her. I don't think I'll need it anytime soon. " She said.

"Really?" He looks at her, and recieves a nod. He walks over to the car with a huge smile grin on his face.

"That is a nice car." Daryl said, walking from behind her.

"Yeah, not what I'm use to but it did it's job." She said, crossing her arms.

"Can you show me where you found Sophia? There must be a spot that I missed."

"Yeah."

* * *

"This is where I found her." Lyla points.

"I've walked over here." He said.

"Guess you didn't look hard enough." She teased.

"Screw you!"

"No thanks." She continued walking. "Up here is where I stayed."

_THUMP!_

She turned to see a squirrel on the ground with an arrow through it. She looked up at Daryl.

"What? This is dinner."

She shook her head and kept walking towards a small cottage. The two walked inside and noticed two walkers sitting on the ground. She points her gun at one.

Daryl quickly lowered her gun. "Are you fucking dumb?!"

"Nope." She lifted her gun and fired 2 rounds into both of their heads.

Daryl was shocked not to hear loud gunshots. _How'd she do that? Silencers?_ he thought to himself.

"So what was that about being fucking dumb?"

Daryl responds with a grunt, while she just smirks. "We should head back. "

Lyla nods, and follows him out.

{_}

"So what'd you do before the world went to shit?" He asked, making conversation.

"I was a stripper." She answers with no hesitation.

"Really?"

"Got to pay the bills, right?" She said. She looks to his surprised expression.

"Well-I-I mean if that's what you did-"

"I'm joking." She finally said.

"Ha ha ha, you're so fucking funny." He snarls.

She chuckles. "I was a nurse by day and illegal street racer by night." She said.

"Wouldn't have pegged you s the type. Maybe a parole officer or police officer." He admits.

"I use to steal cars to get the parts I needed, which is how I got the camaro."

"You hot wired?"

She gives a nod.

"Son of a bitch."

"What'd you do before all of this?" She asked.

He looks over at her and chuckles. "I ain't telling you."

"And why not?"

"That ain't your business." He responds.

"Dick!" she mumbles to herself.

{_}

The two get closer and closer to camp. The whole time Lyla couldn't get her thoughts off Daryl. Something about her caught her attention. Maybe it's the way he carries himself?

Just as she looks up, she sees the camp. Everyone was outside looking in their direction. In the distance she could see a gun being pointed by Andrea.

"Daryl!" She tackles him to the ground, and a shot was fired.

"The hell?!" He exclaimed.

Lyla was on top of Daryl. The two were looking into each others eyes. Something about the other attracted the other. It could be the fact that they pretty much spent the whole day together. Although not much talking was done, but it wasn't needed. It was like their aura's were doing the talking.

"Can you get off of me?!" Daryl asked, breaking the silence and the contact.

Lyla lifts herself up, then helps Daryl. "Don't I get a thank you?"

He gives her a small glare before walking away from her.

She smirks. "You're welcome."


	4. Discoveries

Dear No One

Chapter 4: Discoveries

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING but my OC

A/N: Hi Everyone. I would love to give a special shoutout to everyone who has Favorited and/or followed Dear No One. It's really appreciated. I would love to hear opinions on what you've read so far. I hope to hear from you guys soon.

* * *

When Daryl and Lyla got back, it was almost their time to keep watch. Everyone just finished eating, and were getting ready to sleep at least the kids were.

"Hershel!"

He turned to see Lyla right behind him with a small bag. "Yes?"

"Here's a few antibiotics that I found a while back, thought you might need more." She said, handing him the bag.

"Thank you." He said. He looked inside his house, then at Lyla. "Come in for a sec."

Lyla follows the elder inside of him home. He opened the bag to see hospital medications also known as the heavy stuff.

"Where'd you get this?" He asked.

"The hospital I use to work at. I use to be a nurse." She confessed.

"I see." He said, walking into the kitchen. "Want some tea?"

"Yes Please." She said, sitting at the dining room table. She looked around his home. It had a nice old style rustic theme to it. It was a place anyone could call home. A mug was placed in front of her along with a slice of lemon. "It's been a while since I've had tea."

"I wouldn't have pegged you as a nurse." He said.

She smirked."I've been getting that a lot lately."

"What made you want to become a nurse?'"

"My mom was nurse, and I wanted to be just like her." She said, looking at the black tea inside the mug. "She would come home all the time talking about the patients she'd seen. Most of them were pretty funny but then there were others that weren't so funny. "

She took a sip of her tea. "She was such warm hearted woman, but would be the first to put you in your place. I was always told I act just like her by family members and sometimes patients whenever I went to the hospital after school, which inspired me to be nurse."

"What happened to your mom if you don't mind me asking."

"She was killed by a boyfriend of hers." She breathed as she tried to hold back her tears.

"I'm sorry about your loss." Hershel said.

"I've never told anyone how my mom died. I've always just said she died in a car crash or something. I hope that bastard is rotting in hell."

The two kept talking until it was time for her to go on watch. For some reason, talking to Hershel made her feel better. Although she didn't tell him everything that went on her life, she still felt relieved that someone other than herself knew about her mom.

* * *

"Guys there's walkers in the barn." Glenn blurted out.

Everyone stopped what they were doing. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop from inside the house. Their faces doubting the statement, but Glenn's said otherwise. As a group, they walked over towards the barn.

"You can't tell me you're fine with this?" Shane questioned to Rick.

"No, I'm not." Rick answered. " but we're guest this isn't our land."

"This is our lives man!" Shane shouts.

"Lower your voice!" Glenn advised.

"We can't seep this under the rug." Andrea said.

"We either go in there, we got this thing right, or we got to go now." Shane said, in a demanding tone. "We've been talking about going to Fort Benning for a long time now."

"We can't go." Rick said.

"Why, Rick? Why?" She asked, crossing his arms.

"Because it's the best place we can get right now. We don't know what happened at Fort Benning. It could be just like the CDC."

"Well we don't exactly know that, do we?" We have no reason to stay! Sophia is back with us; Why do we need to stay?" Shane questioned.

"Just let me talk to Hershel; let me figure this out." Rick said.

"and what exactly are you going to figure out?"

"If we stay, We clear this barn..I-I have to talk him into it; this is his land." Rick said.

"Hershel sees the walkers inside as people; sick people." Dale finally spoke.

"His wife; his step-son; his family." Lyla adds.

"You two knew?"

"We talked to him yesterday." Lyla said, standing next to Dale.

"And you waited to tell us?!" Shane exclaimed in anger.

"I thought we could survive the night, which we did. We waited to say something but Glenn thought we should." Dale answered.

"That man is crazy if he thinks they're alive; They're not!" Shane yells.

The doors began to be pushed and growls could be heard from the other side. The children moved behind their mothers for safety.

"Why does he keep them?" Sophia asked.

"He loves them." Lyla answered. "Just like how your mom loves you."

The adults looks at her then scatter. Lyla follows Rick towards the home.

"Rick, come with me." She guides him towards the house. She gives the door a knock.

Hershel answers. "Come on in."

The two enter the house to see Hershel sitting at the table, eating lunch and the bible in hand.

"Light lunch." Rick asked.

"Been working hard lately, I get my studying in when I can." He answered, not looking away from the bible.

"You know we can help you." Rick offered.

"They're my fields to tend to."

The room went silent for a moment.

"They found the barn." Lyla blurted, breaking the silence.

"Leave it be." Hershel said.

As the two continued to talk, Lyla headed outside. She didn't really care to hear the rest of the conversation.

"So you knew." Daryl asked, walking up to her.

"If you came over here to yell at me, you wasted the walk over here because I'm not listening." She said.

"I ain't come over here to yell atcha. You shouldn't jump to conclusions so quick, little girl." He spat.

"Then why did you come over here? Yes I knew and I didn't want to tell anyone. Hershel told me about them being in there and I understood where he was coming from. It's possible that they're just sick and hopefully one day there's a cure for this madness." She spat back.

"You sound fuckin' stupid because if you haven't noticed, these things are dead. I don't even know why I'm entertainin' this conversation." With that he started walking away.

"Yeah walk away like a little bitch." She hissed.

Daryl stopped and turn around to face her. He huffed back to her and they were almost chest to chest. (She's shorter than him; She looks up at him). "What'd you call me, little girl?"

"I called you a bitch." Each of them staring each other down. Anger filled both of their eyes, and both were tensed up. If looks could kill, they'd both be dead. Each of them not wanted to back down from the other. They both had to admit, seeing the other angry was attractive.

Finally, Lyla lost contact with Daryl's piercing glance. She gave a sigh and walked to her usual seat on the steps. She watch him try to hide his smirk, before walking away. She watched as he walked away. What was it about him that made him sexy in her eyes. The door opened, knocking her out of her thoughts about Daryl. "How'd it go?"

"Not good." Rick sat next to her on the steps.

"Rick you have to realize that his family is in there. He wants no one to mess with his family." She said.

"I know but he's a stubborn old man." He said.

"That might be true but you'd feel the same if it were Lori and Carl in that barn."

"Rick..."

The two turned around to see Hershel in the doorway.


	5. Lost Ones

Dear No One

Chapter 5: Lost Ones

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING but my OC

A/N: Hi Everyone. I would love to give a special shoutout to everyone who has favorited and/or followed Dear No One. It's really appreciated. I would love to hear opinions on what you've read so far. I hope to hear from you guys soon.

* * *

Lyla sat on the steps of the porch. Rick and Hershel left not to long ago to handle business. After finding the barn everyone went back to their normal routine. Carol and Lori giving lessons to the children; Dale keeping watch on top of the RV; Glenn playing around with this new car; that was as normal as they were going to get.

"Where's Rick?" Shane asked, angrily.

"Out." Lyla answered. "He should be back soon."

Shane huffed, and stormed off.

"What's going on?" Carol asked.

"Rick is out with Hershel."

Next thing you know, Shane has a bag of guns resting on his shoulder.

"What's all this?" Daryl asked.

"You with me?" Shane holding up a shotgun to Daryl.

"Yeah." He replied, taking the gun from Shane.

"Look it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was safe, but now we know it isn't." Shane reached for another gun and passes it to Glenn. "How about you man, you going to protect yours?"

Glenn looks at Maggie then takes the gun.

"Can you shoot?" Shane asks Maggie.

"Can you stop?" She asked. "You do this, hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight."

"Shane stop being stupid and put the guns back in the bag." Lyla suggests.

"Why don't you hush, newbie?!" Shane spat. "We ain't going nowhere, okay? Now look, Hershels just got ot understand, okay. He has to."

"And you're going to have to understand when you get everyone kicked off this land!" She shot back. "Am I okay with the walkers being close by? No, but this is Hershel's land and we have to respect his wishes. "

"Oh shit!" T-Dog shouts.

Everyone's gaze follows his. Jimmy came out and, Hershel and Rick were leading walkers on leashes. Shane ran in the direction and the group wasn't far behind.

"What the hell are you doing?" Shane asked, furiously.

"Shane just back off!" Rick hissed.

"Why do you people have guns?" Hersel asked, looking at the group members.

"Are you kidding me? Do you see what you're holding?"

"I see who I'm holding onto." Hershel responds.

"No man; You don't see." Shane shouts.

"Shane let us do this, and we'll talk after." Rick pleads.

"What's there to talk about, Rick? These things aren't sick, they're not people; They're dead! Ain't got to feel nothing 'cause all they do is kill! These things right here!" Shane rants. "They're the things that killed amy, they killed otis, and they're going to kill us!"

"Shut up, Shane!"Rick yelled.

"Hey Hershell man, let me ask you something. Would a living, breathing person walk away from this?" Shane pulled out his gun and began shooting a woman that Hershel was holding.

"Shane stop!" Lyla ordered.

"No newbie! Three rounds to the chest, someone who's alive, could they take that? Why is it still coming?" He kept firing rounds into the woman. "That's it's heart, it's lungs, Why is it still coming?"

Lyla stepped in front of Shane and lowered his gun. "Enough!"

"You're right, newbie, that is enough." He eased past her and shot the woman in the head. She went down, bringing Hershel to his knees. "Enough living next to a barn filled with things that are trying to kill us! Enough! Rick it ain't like it was before."

All eyes were on Shane. Some confused; some agreed and, others were annoyed and aggravated.

"Now if ya'll want to live; if you want to survive, you got to fight for it! I'm talking about fight right here; right now!" Shane ran towards the barn.

Lyla quickly ran after him with the group not far behind.

Shane grabbed the ax and swung at the lock. He kept swinging at it until it finally broke. He took the board off and tossed it to the side. He hits the door then stands ready to shoot. "Come on, we're out here!"

"Don't do it!" Glenn pleaded.

"This is not the way," Rick adds.

The children get pushed behind their mothers. Shane shooting each other of the walkers one by one as they came out. Soon Daryl, Andrea, and T-Dog joined. With Maggie's okay, Glenn joined as well. Lyla stood there watching as they fired. It seemed like she was in a small army consisting of Dale and Rick.

"Stay back!" Rick directed to his family. "Stop!" no one listened.

Finally the last walker had fallen. Weapons were lowered, and all eyes were on the fallen corpses. Lyla shook her head. Daryl glances back at Lyla, her eyes read disappointed.

Silence swooped in. Everyone slowing taking in the massacre that just took place. A tragedy.

The sound of a growl brings everyone's eyes to the barn. One more? Guns were raised, and they wait for the walker to step out.

Lyla narrows her eyes for a moment then they go wide. Her heart dropped to ground. The walker had grayish light brown skin with curly dark hair that fell past her shoulders. A chunk of the neck next to the right shoulder was missing. A golden necklace rested around her neck.

"Don't shoot." Lyla said, her tone was weak. Her feet guiding her closer to the walker, and tears trying to escape her eyes.

Daryl lowered his shot gun as he watched her walk towards the walker.

Lyla's eyes traveled the walker as it walked closer to her.

_BANG!_

The walker falls and Lyla's head shoots back towards the group. In her eyes you could tell the emotion. Pain and Hurt. Shane stood there with a grin on his face.

Her jaw tightened and anger filled her eyes. She took a sharp breath before storming off away fro the group.

"What was that?" Andrea asked.

"That was her sister." Sophia spoke.

* * *

Lyla sat on the steps of the house. Her jaw still tight and her head resting in her arms with tears hitting her leg.

The sound of footsteps get closer to her. She doesn't move from her position.

"I'm sorry about your sister." Daryl said.

She, then, raised her head from her knees. Her eyes were red and puffy; tears still rolling down her cheek. "I didn't think I'd see her like that. I was gonna start searching for her again, but I guess I found her."

Daryl didn't say anything. He really didn't know what to say. He wans't use to dealing with an emotional female, especially one who called him a 'bitch' earlier in the day.

She wiped her tears. "Times like these I could really use a cigarette."

"Who you tellin'" Daryl sat next to her.

"She was only 17. Didn't get the chance to live or go to college like she wanted." She said, staring at the ground.

Daryl slowly placed his arm around her. "Hey at least you know she doesn't have to live through this shit hole."

Lyla let's out a small laugh. "True, but I wish she didn't have to deal with it alone." She leaned her head on his shoulder.

Daryl's body tensed up. He felt a little uneasy when she placed her head down. It was another thing he wasn't really use to.

"Thank you." She said, softly.

"No problem. Next time just punch Shane out; we all know he deserves it."

She chuckles. "I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

Looks like Daryl and Lyla finally had another moment. Definitely more to come in the future chapters. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it.

Please review to let me know what you think of this chapter or even the story as a whole so far.


	6. Numb

Dear No One

Chapter 6: Numb

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING but my OC

A/N: Hi Everyone. I would love to give a special shoutout to everyone who has favorited and/or followed Dear No One. It's really appreciated. I would love to hear opinions on what you've read so far. I hope to hear from you guys soon.

* * *

"Mom have you seen Lyla?" Sophia asked.

Carol shook her head. "No, I haven't. I haven't actually seen her since earlier."

"What's going on?" Lori asked, walking over.

"Have you seen Lyla?" Carol asked.

"Not since this morning." She answered.

Sophia ran over to Lyla's tent, and unzipped it. Her sleeping bag was still out and her duffle bag was still there. She didn't leave. There was a photo album open on the sleeping bag. The page has pictures of Lyla and a young girl, who resembled her. Each picture they were either smiling or making silly faces. She has never seen this side of Lyla; No one has.

"Sophia!" Carol called.

"Her stuff is still here." She said, leaving the tent.

"Where could she be?"

* * *

Lyla took a drag of her cigarette. She sat in a small tavern in the nearest town. A bottle of whiskey no far from her reach and her backpack at her feet. She just didn't care anymore. All her hope was gone once the bullet entered her sister's head.

She took a swig of the light brown liquid. The bottle was almost empty. It was full when she first arrived.

"What are you doing here?" She didn't have to turn to see who it was.

"Just hoping Jack could help numb the pain." She answered. "What about you Hershel?"

"I use to come here before Maggie was born."

She looks at him then back at the empty bottle. "I'd offer you some but..."

"It's fine." He said.

She reaches over the bar and hands him the other bottle of whiskey."Bottoms up."

"Thanks." Hershel said, pouring himself a glass.

Lyla grabbed a bottle of tequila and took a gulp.

"Maybe you should slow down." Hershel advised.

"I can handle my liquor." She slightly slurred. "Did you know?"

"Did I know what?"

"That my sister was in the barn." She looked into his eyes.

"I had no clue."

Lyla looked at him for a brief moment before taking another swig from the glass bottle. The liquid burned her throat but the sensation felt amazing to her. "Upside about today is that I have enough cigarettes to last me a few months." She chuckled.

The door swings open and, there was Rick and Glenn.

"Rick! Glenn!" Lyla exclaimed with a bright smile on her face.

"You okay?" Glenn asked Lyla.

"She's drunk." Hershel said, taking a sip of his drink.

"I am not." She got off the bar stool to stumble a little. "Alright maybe just a little."

"Lyla, you can't just leave without telling someone." Rick said.

"Sorry officer." She playfully said.

"Hershel come back to the farm." Rick said, ignoring Lyla's remark.

As they talked, Glenn watched Lyla. She was looking at him with her drunken eyes. At that point she was lost in her own paradise.

"Sorry about your sister." Glenn said, breaking their silence.

"It's fine, she's chillen with my mom." She said.

Glenn smiled.

"How's the new car?" She asked.

"It's coming along good." He answered.

"Maybe if you're up for it, we can race each other." Lyla offered.

"Like street racing?"

"Exactly." She loudly whispered.

"Sure, that'd be fun." He said.

"Fine, I'll come back." Hershel said.

"Alright let's get going." Rick said. Just then the door swung open.

"Son of a bitch," The stranger gasped. "They're still alive."

The group sat there in silence for a moment.

"I'm Dave and this ass clown is Tony."

Glenn gives a small smile. "I'm Glenn." He started. "This is Rick Grimes, Hershel Greene, and Lyla..."

"Daniels." Lyla completed.

Dave walked over to the bar and reached for a glass to poor Gin into. "Want one?"

Hershel shook her head. "Just quit." he answered.

"Unique sense of timing." He said.

"We lost a lot of people today." Lyla slurred.

"I'm truly sorry to hear that." He said, before raising his glass. "To better days and better friends...And to our dead, may they be in a better place."

Lyla clinked her bottle with his glass before taking a swig.

"You fellas are a long way from Philadelphia." Rick said. "What drove you south?"

"Well I can tell you it wasn't the weather," Dave commented. "Hell I dropped 30 pounds in sweat alone down here. But Nah, first we were in D.C. because we heard there might be some kind of refugee camp but the roads were jammed up; we never even got close. So we decided to get off the highways, into the sticks, keep haulin' ass. Every group we came across had a new rumor about a way out of this thing."

Tony cleared his throat. " One guy told us there was a coast guard sitting in the Gulf, sending ferries to the islands." He told.

"The latest was a rail yard in Montgomery running trains to the middle of the country. Places like Kansas and Nebraska." Dave added.

"Did you say Nebraska?" Lyla asked.

"Low population; Lots of guns." Tony said, slyly.

"Ever been to Nebraska, Baby girl?" Dave asked, flashing a smile at Lyla. She shook her head."There's a reason they call 'em the flyover states. So, what about you guys? Got any plans?"

"I was planning to chill with my friends Jack and Jose but you guys are kind of crashing that party." Lyla said, taking a sip of Tequila. The strangers laughed at the remark.

"Fort Benning eventually." Rick answered.

"I hate to piss in your cornflakes but we ran across a grunt who was stationed at Benning. He said the place was overrun by lame brains." Dave answered sadly.

"It's gone?" Glenn gasped. "For real?"

Dave gave a nod. "Sadly I am." He took another sip of his drink. "Oddly the truth is there is no way out of this mess. You just keep going from one pipe dream to the next, praying one of these mindless freaks doesn't grab ahold of you when you sleep."

"Who even sleeps nowadays?" Lyla mumbled.

"Yeah, but it doesn't look like you guys are hanging your hats here. You holed up somewhere else?" Dave asked. "Were those your cars out front? We're livin' in ours but yours look kinda empty and clean. Where's all your gear?"

"We're with a larger group." Hershel explained. "We're out scouting and thought we could use a drink."

"Thought you quit." Dave muttered. He gave a small sigh. "Well, we're thinkin' of setting up here. Is it safe?"

"It can be." Glenn said. "Although I've killed a few walkers around here."

"Walkers? That what you call them? I like that. It's a lot better than calling them lamebrains."Dave said. " So what you guys set up on the outskirts of town or something?"

"You ask a lot of questions, Dave." Lyla piped out.

"Just being friendly, baby girl." He said.

"Well if you must know, we have a farm." She said.

"You got food? Water?"

"We've said enough." Rick said, cutting him off.

"Hang on a second. This farm...it sounds pretty sweet. How about a little southern hospitality? We got some buddies back at our camp. We've been having a real time. So...I don't see you can't make room for a few more. We can pull our resources; our manpower." He said.

"Look, I'm sorry but that's not an option." Rick protested.

"Doesn't sound like it would be a problem." Dave muttered.

"We're not taking in others." Hershel piped in.

Dave let out a chuckle. "Damn you guys are something else. I thought we were friends. Hey, we've got people we look out for too."

"We don't know you." Rick stated.

Dave gave a nod. "That's true. You don't know anything about us." He slowly said. "You don't know what we've had to go through out there. The things we've had to do. I bet you've all had some of those same things yourself. Ain't nobody's hands clean in what's left of this world. We're all the same. So c'mon, let's take a nice friendly hayride to this farm and we'll get to know each other." He began to rub Lyla's hand, causing her to feel uneasy. She gives him an awkward smirk.

"That's not gonna happen." Rick assured.

"Hey, I'll shoot you assholes and just take the damn farm myself.!" Tony yelled!

Lyla pulled out her 9mm and pointed it at Dave's temple. "If you don't remove your hand, I'll gladly shoot you in the friendliest way possible."

He removed his hand. "Woah there, hun! We're just friends having a drink. That's all. No guns. Now where's the good stuff?"

She watched as he searched for a bottle behind the counter. It looked as if he was pulling out a gun. As soon as he reappeared with a gun, and her finger pulled the trigger. She quickly turned around, and she fired a round into Tony's chest. He fell to the ground.

Rick raised his gun, and finished him off. "You alright?"

"Yeah, but that killed my buzz." She said. She slowly got off the stool and stumbled forward. "Nope, still drunk. But we should leave."

The men nodded in agreement, and Glenn helped drunken Lyla towards the exit.

* * *

So Lyla is drunk of Jack Daniels and Jose Cuarvo, and she's shooting people...Interesting right? Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did writing it! To be honest I can't wait to post up the next chapter, because that's so far my favorite out of all the chapters.

Please don't be afraid to review, I'd love to know what you thought of this chapter or even the story as a whole. It'd be really appreciated.


	7. Drunken Words

Dear No One

Chapter 7: Drunken Words

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING but my OC

A/N: Hi Everyone. I would love to give a special shoutout to everyone who has favorited and/or followed Dear No One. It's really appreciated. I would love to hear opinions on what you've read so far. I hope to hear from you guys soon.

* * *

When the four approached the door, a set of headlights were approaching. Glenn pulled Lyla down, causing her to let out a giggle. He placed his hand over her mouth to keep her silent.

"Dave?Tony?" Someone called.

"I heard shots," Another voice said. " I saw roamers two streets away. Okay, we should stick close and search the area. We'll find them.

The voice disappeared, then Glenn removed his hand.

"You almost got your hand licked." Lyla giggled.

Glenn peeked through the window. No one was in sight, but the car was still there. "Why won't they leave?" He whispered.

"I don't know about you guys but I don't think it's safe here." Lyla whispered.

"She's right; let's head out the back and run to the car." Rick said.

"Wait, I didn't think that meant we had to run!" She whispered.

Glenn placed his hand on her shoulder."You can do it."

The four of them got up, then several shots were fired. They weren't being fired at the tavern but somewhere else local. Footsteps were heard right outside the door, causing Glenn to leap in front to close the door.

"What in the hell? I swear someone pushed the door shut on me." The voice said. The sound of someone banging began. "Yo! Is someone in there?! If someone's in there, we don't want no trouble; we're just looking for our friends. If something happened to them, just tell us."

"Dude there's no one in there." Someone said.

Rick glanced over at Lyla, who shook her head.

"Don't," She mouthed.

"They drew on us!" Rick yelled. The voices go mute, and Lyla face palms her head. "Dave and Tony are dead. Your friends drew on us! They gave us no choice. I'm sure we've all lost enough people; done things we didn't have to but it's like that now, you know that."

Silence swept for a moment. Each of them looking at each other, waiting for a response. Gun shots were fired, shattering the window. Lyla ducked as the pieces hit her back. "We have to go!" She said, aiming her 9mm out the window.

Rick remained in cover with Hershel as Lyla and Glenn went towards the back exit. "We all know this is not gonna end well! There's nothing in it for any of us! Just back off and no one else needs to get hurt!" Rick yelled.

He gave a gesture for Glenn and Lyla to make another move towards the exit.

Lyla followed Glenn through the back door and down a set of steps. They were the brewery. Each of their guns were raised; ready to shoot walkers or anyone that comes in their way.

"Glenn!" Lyla said, pointing towards the door.

He gave her a nod, and started towards the door. The door knob began to turn from the other side. Lyla started shooting at the door until the person behind it disappeared.

"Lyla! Glenn!" Rick shouts.

"We're fine!" Glenn yelled. The two began to make their way towards the door, when they heard footsteps coming from behind. Lyla turned around, ready to fire if needed. Her gun was pointed at Hershel. Glenn jumped back, while Lyla just lowers her gun.

"Rick wants you to try for the car." Hershel said.

"Try?" Glenn asked. His tone was shaky and nervous.

"You'll try and succeed." Hershel encouraged. "Lyla and I will cover you."

Glenn looks over at Lyla before giving a nervous nod. He moved towards the back door with Hershel and Lyla not too far behind. The door was slowly opened, and Glenn disappeared into the alley. Lyla looked out the opened door and was greeted to shots being fired. Glenn ducked behind a dumpster. Lyla shot back, causing the guy to fall onto the ground.

Rick stood behind the two. "What the hell happened?"

"He fired." Hershel said. "Lyla shot him. I think he hit Glenn. He's behind the dumpster and hasn't moved."

Rick made his way into the alley with Hershel and Lyla behind him. Once they got to the dumpster, they saw Glenn's feet out.

"Glenn, you okay?" Lyla asked.

"No." He answered, softly. Lyla stood guard looking at down the alley way.

"It's alright." Rick assured. "The car is right there. We're almost home. You good?"

"Y-Yes." Glenn managed to say.

Rick nodded. "Good, let's go."

The four began made their way to the street, where shots were being fired. Lyla looked up to see a guy shooting on the roof.

A car pulled forward. "Let's get out of here." Someone shouted to the roof gunman. "Just jump!"

The guy on the roof nods, and lowers himself off the ledge. Instead of the sound of someone's feet hitting the car or the ground, A yelp was heard. "Help!"

"I'm sorry!" The man inside the car said. "We gotta go, I'm sorry!"

The car pulled off, disappearing from sight.

Rick let out a sigh. "Get Hershel," He told Glenn," Meet us across the street."

Lyla jogged across the street into the alleyway. The man, well teenager, had his leg stuck on a fence post.

Hershel came over and examined the leg. "We have to go, now!"

"Please don't leave me!" The kid yelped.

"Hershel, He's a child."

"Lyla-"

Lyla cut Hershel off. "He's a kid, we can't just leave him here."

Rick gave a nod. "She's right; we can't just leave him here."

"The spike went clean through," Hershel said. "There's no way we can get the leg off in one piece. We're not going to get that leg off without tear the muscle to shreds. He can't run. Maybe we should put him down, and ease his suffering."

"Hershel, We at least have to explore what possibilities we have before we just choose to kill him." She said. "We can do an amputation."

After a few minutes of searching for sharp objects, they came across a sharp blade and a hatchet. Hershel tied the young man's leg. Glenn turned his back as the trio began to move quickly on his leg. The kid screamed and cried before they even touched his leg.

"Kid, we haven't even touched you yet." Lyla said.

"Walkers!" Glenn informed. "Hurry up!"

The walkers were getting closer and closer.

"Rick, we're going to have to pull him up." Lyla ordered. The two grabbed a side of the leg, and with one try, pulled the leg out of spike. A bloody murder scream rang through the alleyway.

* * *

Dawn came and the group pulled up to the house. The remaining group members poured out of Hershel's home. Lyla was still feeling the adrenaline and the buzz from the dark liquor. It also could've been the fact that she was finished the nip she had in her backpack.

"The fact that I'm still feel like this is amazing." She laughed. She stumbled out the backseat of the car, almost falling onto the ground.

"What's wrong with Lyla?" Andrea asked.

"She's a little drunk."

"Am not! I can pass the sobriety test with flying colors." She slurred.

"I'll bring her back to her tent." Daryl offered.

"I can walk, Mr. Dixon." She straightened her posture and started walking until she lost her balance.

Daryl smirked before picking her up bridal style.

"Hey! You have to buy me dinner first." She said, causing the others to hold back their chuckles.

"Who the hell is that?" T-Dog asked, pointing towards the truck. Everyone's eyes looks at the mysterious guy in the backseat.

"That's Randall."

Daryl unzipped Lyla's tent, and she had a grin on her face.

"You fascinate me, Daryl." She said.

"Ain't nothing fascinating about me!" He said, placing her on the sleeping bag.

"Actually there is. You're a hot headed loner, who let me call him a 'bitch'." She said.

"You ain't getting away with that again." He assured. "You're lucky I don't hit women."

"Why did you see if I was okay earlier?" She asked.

He finally met her gaze. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to go and kill nobody or run off."

"Well, I did the last part." She laughed. "Why do you care if I stay here?"

"You ask too many questions." He grunted.

"Awe, Daryl cares." She quickly got up to open her tent. "Guess what everyone-"

Daryl pulled her back in before she could finish. "I don't care. Now lay down."

"It's alright to care, Daryl; I kind of care about you too."

"That's the booze talking." He went to exit the tent until he felt a hand grab his wrist.

"I do care." She said.

He looks at her drunken eyes. He didn't really know what to think. "Just get some sleep." he finally said.

"Lay with me." She said, softly.

His eyes look back into hers.

"Please?"

He grunts before laying on the sleeping bag. He notices her surprised look on her face. "You want me to lay with you or not?" He barked.

She smiled and laid her head on her pillow. "Are you going to admit you care about me?"

He fell silent, and placed his arm over his eyes.

"Well, I'm going to take the silence as a yes." She said.

"Whatever." He replied.

She turned her back towards him and smiled.

He peeked through his arm to see her back turned. He smiled then covered his eyes.

* * *

_I don't know about you guys, but for some reason I fell in love with the last part. That is probably one of my favorite Lyla and Daryl moments that I've written so far. I really would like your opinions on the chapter because it's one of my favorites._

_Also this will probably be my last chapter for possibly a while because I want to work on other fanfictions that I've neglected and I feel bad about._

_So leave a review because reviews are nice and are good for the soul._


	8. Closer

Dear No One

Chapter 8: Closer

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING but my OC

A/N: Hi Everyone. I would love to give a special shoutout to everyone who has favorited and/or followed Dear No One. It's really appreciated. I would love to hear opinions on what you've read so far. I hope to hear from you guys soon.

* * *

Lyla woke up to a headache and a hardcore feeling of nausea. She looked up to see Daryl still sleeping.

'So that wasn't a dream' She thought to herself. She really asked Daryl to lay with her and he did. She somehow found it comforting laying on his chest.

He lets out a small groan, and she closes her eyes.

He looks down to see a 'sleeping' Lyla. She looked peaceful when she slept. He slowly moves from under here,and leaves the tent.

Lyla opens one eye and looks at the exit. She really cuddled with the infamous hotheaded Daryl Dixon. She turns over to looks at her watch. It was noon time. She lifted herself and a sharp pain went through her head. _Baby steps, Ly,_ She said to herself.

She reached in her duffle bag for advil and the last drop of her water. She laid back down and reached for her book. The Great Gastby. She's read it over 10 times, but she grew to love it more as she read it. She wanted to buy herself fifteen minutes before leave.

The ten opened, and there was Glenn. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Hungover," She said with a chuckle.

"I bet; you drank a bottle and a half along with the nips you brought." He laughed.

"I apologize if I was a handful last night." She said.

"You weren't that bad." He said. "For an overly drunk woman, your aim was pretty good." They both chuckled.

"That's always a plus, huh?"

"So..." He trailed off. "So what's up with you and Daryl?"

"What?"

"I came to get him, and you guys were all cuddled up, sleeping." He said.

"Nothing is going on." She said. "I was drunk and he laid with me to get me to stay in my sleeping bag."

"I mean there's also the day you guys walked off in the woods together."

"I was showing him where I found Sophia. Glenn, I assure you, nothing is going on." She said.

"To be honest, we've never seen him likes this towards anyone."

"Like what?"

"Caring." He said. "He's never run after someone like that besides Sophia when she was missing. Or to see him volunteer to help take care of someone."

She looked at him for a moment. "Well since you want to give me the third degree, what's up with you and Maggie?"

"I think Rick is calling me." He said, slowly backing out the tent.

She smiled then placed her book back on her duffle bag. She stood up and exited her tent.

"Look who's awake?" T-Dog teased.

"Haha" She said back.

"Lyla!" Sophia clutched her waist. "I thought you left!"

"Just went on a small fieldtrip." She said, rubbing the young girl's back. She looked to see Daryl staring at her. She quickly looked away before a smile could leave her lips.

"Lyla, Can you help me with the laundry?" Lori asked.

"Yeah, sure." Lyla follows Lori to the laundry area.

"I just need to hang theses." Lori said, pointing towards the small basket. The two began to place the clothes on the thin line. "So what's going on with you and Daryl?"

"I'm out of here." Lyla went to go walk away, until she felt a tug on her shirt.

"Come on." Lori Chuckled.

"Why does everyone think something is going on?" Lyla chuckled.

"The way you guys act around each other; it's cute."

"Nothing is going on between us, Lori. He's not interested in me anyways." Lyla's eyes go wide after her last sentence.

"So you like him?" Lori asked, placing her hand on her hip.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Lyla brushed off.

"Come on, you can tell me."

Lyla looks at Lori, and rolls her eyes. "I need a secret."

"What?"

"I need one of your secrets just in case mine gets out. Secret for Secret." She explained.

Lori gave a small sigh. "I slept with Shane, and this baby inside of me might be his."

"Congrats on the baby but what are you going to do?" Lyla asked.

"I don't know; Me and Rick are working through it." She answered. "What about you and Daryl?"

Lyla gives a shrug. "I mean there's an attraction there but I don't want to push it unless I know he feels the same way about me." She said.

"Well I've known Daryl for a while now, and I never seen him smile nor smirk like he did last night." Lori said.

Lyla looked at Lori for a moment. "I think I'm going to go wash up."

Lori gives a nod, before finishing up the laundry.

Lyla walked downs towards the creek, and stripped every article of clothing off her body. She neatly tosses them onto her backpack.

The water wasn't too cold; it was warm. This was the first time in a while where she could bathe without being completely paranoid. Something about the water made her feel free. She lowered her head into the water.

_Flashback_

_"So guess who has the day off?" Lyla said, plopping onto a full size bed. On the bed was her sister, Rachel, studying._

_"You do?" Rachel answered._

_"So that means we should do something fun today." She said._

_"I have my final on monday." Rachel informed._

_"So? It's saturday! You can study tomorrow; today we go down to the track and race the four wheelers." Lyla said. "Please, we don't ever have sissy time anymore."_

_"Ly, I-"_

_"Please." Lyla begged, holding her sisters hostage in her arms._

_"Fine!"_

_"Good, now get dressed!" Lyla said, letting go and leaving her room._

_Rachel shook her head, and closed her text book._

_Music started to play and carry through the small condo. The sisters were dancing and having fun with each other. They sang into their hairbrushes, jumped to the rhythm of the beat. Each laughing as they make a complete full of themselves but not giving a damn about it._

_Flash Back Over!_

Lyla lifts her head from the water, bringing her back into reality. She got out of the water and wrapped her towel around her body. She sat down, and reached for her box of cigarettes. A lot was traveling through her mind. The death of her sister, life before the breakout, her mom, and lastly Daryl. It's been while since she's cuddled with someone. Daryl was different from her exes. Something about him attracted her more and more they come in contact with each other.

"Someone's been holding out." The sound of Daryl's voice caused Lyla to jump.

"Dammit Daryl!" She exclaimed. She reached into the carton and handed him a cigarette along with her lighter.

"Nice Tattoo." He said, sitting next to her.

She touched her shoulder. " Thanks, it's for my mom. Roses were her favorite." She said, taking a drag.

"Is there a reason why you're sitting here in a towel?" He asked.

She shrugs. "Just didn't feel like getting dressed yet."

He looks over at her and takes a drag.

"Looks sorry about last night." She said.

He smirked. "It's cool. It was funny seeing you drunk."

"Whatever...bitch" She playfully said.

"You best run if you know what's good for you."

She quickly got up and ran on the edge of the water. Daryl wasn't too far behind. "Come on Daryl! I'm only in a towel!"

"You should've thought about that!" He called. He chases her back to her clothes before tackling her to the ground.

Lyla couldn't stop laughing.

"You need to learn to stop calling me a bitch."

"and you need to learn how to take a joke." She said.

The two look into each other's eyes; each mesmerized by the other. They both start to lean in, and their eyes start to close.

"Hey!"

They look up to see Glenn standing there. Glenn froze as he saw the two There was no excuse they could come up with fast enough to cover their asses.

"Um...Rick is looking for the two of you." He finally said.

The two looked at each other. Daryl quickly got off and walked past Glenn. Lyla gets her her clothes, while Glenn smirks before following Daryl.


	9. Suicidal

Dear No One

Chapter 9: Suicidal

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING but my OC

A/N: Hi Everyone. I would love to give a special shoutout to everyone who has favorited and/or followed Dear No One. It's really appreciated. I would love to hear opinions on what you've read so far. I hope to hear from you guys soon.

* * *

Everyone gathered around the dining room table; Rick is at the head of the table.

Rick let out a sigh. "We couldn't just leave him behind; he would've bled out if he lived that long." He said.

"It's gotten bad in town." Glenn adds.

"What do we do with him?" Andrea asks.

Hershel steps into into the room, wiping his hands with a rag. "I repaired his calf muslce as best I can, but he'll probably have nerve damage ; won't be on his feet for at least a weak."

"When he is, we give him a canteen, take him out to the road, and send him on his way." Rick said.

"Isn't that the same as leaving him for the walkers?" Andrea asks.

Rick sighs."He'll have a fighting chance."

"Just let him go? He knows where we are." Shane said, breaking his silence.

"He was blindfolded the entire ride." Lyla chimes in.

"How would you know newbie, weren't you drunk the entire time?"

Lyla raised her middle finger with an annoyed smirk.

"He's not a threat." Rick defends.

"Not a threat? How many of them are there? You killed three of them, you took one of them hostage, but they aren't just gonna come looking." Shane hisses.

"They didn't care about him, they left him there to die." Lyla explains.

"We should still post guard." T-Dog suggests.

"He's out cold right now, will be for hours." Hershel informs.

"You know what? I'm gonna get him flowers and candy." Shane said, before he starts to walk away. "Look at this folks- we're back in fantasyland.

Hershel turns to face Shane. " You know, we haven't even delt with what you did at my barn yet. Let me make this perfectly clear, once and for all-This is my farm. Now I wanted you gone; Rick talked me out of it but that doesn't mean I like it. So do us a favor, and keep your mouth shut."

Lyla smirks, and Shane catches it before just giving a sigh.

"We're not gonna do anything about it today. Let's just cool off." Rick says, dismissing everyone.

* * *

Lyla and Lori walked into the kitchen.

"Can you go check Beth for me? I sent a tray up there to see if she'll eat, but I haven't gone up there to check."

"Yeah," Lyla walks up the stairs and heads straight for Beth's room. She gives it a small knock. "Beth?"

She slowly opened the door, and Beth was laying there with her back turned towards the door. She looked liked she hadn't moved in a while.

Lyla sat on the edge of the bed. "It's okay to feel what you're feeling, Beth. I've been down this path too."

Beth turned to face Lyla. "What?"

"I lost my mom when was pre-teen. I was in the same situation you're in."

"It's just so pointless." Beth said.

"The difference between our situations is that you have people that care about you. Maggie, your father, Patricia, and Jimmy. When my mom was killed, no one cared about me nor my sister. We were left to fend for ourselves since our step-dad didn't care if we lived or died. One thing I learned is that the best I could do, for my sister's sake, stay strong. Stay strong for you family, Beth. I wish I could promise it'd be alright in the end, but I can't. But we can make it today alright; we have to."

"Thank you,"

Lyla gives a small smile. "I'll be back to check on you in a few." She said, getting up from the side of the bed.

"Lyla-When does it stop?" Beth asks.

Lyla small grin fades. "I'll let you know when I find out." She said, grabbing the tray. She looked at it. " And beth give me the knife."

Beth looks at her with confusion, before handing her the knife.

"I told you, I've been in your shoes." Lyla said, before leaving the room. She walked down the stairs and places the tray on the counter.

"Looks like she did eat." Lori said.

"Watch Beth, and keep the knives away from her." Lyla said, before leaving the kitchen. She looks around outside, and there was no sign of Hershel nor Maggie. She jogs up to the RV, where Andrea was on look out. "Andrea, have you seen Hershel or Maggie?"

"Haven't seen Hershel, but Maggie and Glenn walked by maybe twenty minutes ago."

"Can you go get Maggie for me please?" Lyla said, before heading back to the house.

When Maggie returneed, Lyla told her about Beth possibly being suicidal. Maggie didn't take that news so lightly, and went up to Beth's room. The two start yelling at each other. Lori washed the contents of Beth's tray while Lyla dried. Andrea just leans on the counter, looking in the doorway.

"Where's Hershel?" Andrea asked.

"Doesn't want to find out yet." Lori answers.

Lyla placed the last dish into the cupboard, before leaning against the counter across from Andrea. "It's a family affair; We'll just let them work it out."

"That's working it out?" Andrea asks.

"When Beth stops fighting is when it's time to worry." Lori says, wiping down the sink.

Andrea shook her head."This could've been handled better."

Lyla's positions shifts. "How so?"

"You shouldn't have taken the knife away." Andrea said to Lyla.

"What?!"

"You were wrong, like Dale taking my gun a while back; That wasn't your decision. She has to choose to live on her own; she has to find her own reasons." Andrea said.

"I guess you wanted me to give her a loaded gun?" Lyla asks, crossing her arms.

Andrea gave a small shrug. "If she's serious, she'll figure it out."

"That doesn't mean I can't stop her from making a mistake." Lyla snaps.

"She only has so many choices in front of her, and she belives the best one is suicide." Andrea argues back.

Lyla scoffs. "It's not though, Andrea! I know exactly what she's going through; I've been there done that. Only difference is, I was younger and no gave a shit about me. She has people who care deeply about her, so it's not an option."

"Of course it is. She doesn't need to be yelled at or treated like a child."

Lyla reaches into the back of her pants, and pulls out her guns. She loads it and takes the safety off. "Give it to her then."

Andrea looks at Lyla."What?"

"Lyla-"

Lyla cuts Lori off. "Lori no; Andrea believes Beth should have the option to kill herself, why not give her the tools? Andrea, bring her the gun."

Andrea looked horrified. "No..."

Lyla looks at her, and takes her gun back. " I didn't think so. If I were you, I'd stay away from that girl."

"And what are you going to do if I don't?"

"Do it, and find out." Lyla hissed, before leaving the kitchen. She heads straight for Daryl's tent, where is just sitting outside with his crossbow. She sits down next to him, and he looks over at her.

"Who pissed you off?"

"What makes you think I'm pissed off?" She asks.

"Your nose wrinkles up when you're pissed." He answered.

Lyla covers her nose. "It does not."

Daryl placed his crossbow on his lap, and gently moves her hand. "Yes, it does."

"Fine, Andrea pissed me off." She finally answered. "She was telling me I was wrong for taking the knife away from Beth. I just didn't want Beth to make mistake."

"You did the right thing." He said.

"I know," Lyla looks down to see her fingers interwined with Daryl's. It's been a while since she's had someone hold her hand. It felt good. For some reason with Daryl, Lyla could get a sense of normality. Although it was probably a slim chance, if the walkers didn't over, that should've met Daryl.

She placed her head onto his shoulder, and he didn't tense up. "I've never shot a crossbow before."

"It's not that hard." He said.

"Well then it should be easy for you to teach me, that way I don't go shooting someone in the ass."

He grins. "Yeah, we don't want that."

"I'm going to go check on Beth because I think Maggie is done talking to her." She said.

"Alright, don't go trying to kill someone." He plants a kiss on the side of her head, before she walks off.

{_}

Lyla walks into Beth's room to see Lori and Maggie trying to get in.

"What's going on?"

"Beth is in there; Maggie said she heard some glass."

"Where's the key?Beth? Open up!" Lyla said, trying to force the door to open.

"I don' know." Maggie answers. "Don't do this."

"Do you have a card or something?" Lyla looks over at the fireplace and grabs the fork and jams it into the door. She pulls back as hard as could, and the door opens.

Beth turned and she was holding her arm. It was bleeding intensely. "I'm sorry..." She sobs.

"It's okay." Maggie said, comforting her.

"Lori, Get me a towel." Lyla instructed, holding down the wound. Lori hands her the towel, and she wraps the towel around Beth's wrist. "Bring her into the kitchen. Maggie get Hershel's supply kit."

{_}

Andrea comes running towards the house.

Maggie steps out of the house, once Andrea is in sight. "Where were you?"

"I heard; Is she alright?" Andrea asks.

"She would be if you stayed with her; Where were you?"

"How bad is she?" Andrea asks, ignoring the question.

"It wasn't deep." Lori answers, coming outside.

Andrea smiles. "She wants to live; she made her decision."

"She tried to kill herself." Maggie reminds her.

"No she didn't"

"My father and Lyla are in the kitchen stitching up her wrist right now."

Lyla steps out of the house. "Didn't I say stay away from her?"

"She'll live," Andrea responds, nonchalantly.

Lyla walks over to Andrea, and her fist meets the side of Andrea's cheek.

"Stay away from her; both of us. Don't step foot into this house again." Maggie said, before walking back in. Lyla looks at a shocked Andrea, and walks away holding her hand.


	10. Memories

Dear No One

Chapter 10: Memories.

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING but my OC

A/N: Hi Everyone. I would love to give a special shoutout to everyone who has favorited and/or followed Dear No One. It's really appreciated. I would love to hear opinions on what you've read so far. I hope to hear from you guys soon. Sadly I won't be watching the first episode of the new season, due to not finishing season 4. School ended up getting in the way when it showing, and I always ended up missing it. Anyways, On with chapter 10.

{_}

Daryl punches Randall in the face, causing the young teenager to fall. Lyla stood there with her arms crossed, looking at Randall. Rick, earlier, asked the two to talk to Randall to get any type of information out of him.

"I told you!" Randall cries out.

"You told me shit!" Daryl spat.

Before Daryl could strike once more, Lyla puts her hand on his shoulder. He looks at her and refrains from hitting the kid.

Randall looks up at the two. "I barely knew those guys! I met 'em on the road!"

"How many were in your group?" Lyla asks.

Randall shrugs. "Uh..." Randall sees Daryl pull a knife out. "Come on man!"

Daryl stabs the knife into the floorboard. "How many?"

"Uh, 30. 30 Guys!"

"Where?" Lyla asks.

"Uh..."

Daryl rips the bandage off causing Randall to cry in pain.

" 'Uh' isn't a good answer, Randall." Lyla states.

"I don't know, I swear! We were never in anyplace more than one night." The young man cries out.

Daryl looks back at Lyla, then at Randall. "Scouting? Planning to stay local?'"

"I-I don't know; They left me behind!"

"Did you ever pick off a scab?" Daryl asks.

"Come on man!" Randall pleads. "I'm-I'm trying to corporate!"

Daryl ignores him. "Start real slow at first. "

"No!" Randall cries.

Daryl continues. "Sooner or later, you just got to rip it off."

"Okay, Okay- They-They have weapons... heavy stuff. Automatics, but-but I didn't do anything!"

Lyla scoffs. "Your guys shot at some of my group members and I... As I recall, you were shoot too. You're trying to take this farm."

"You just went along for the ride? You're trying to tell me you're innocent." Daryl adds, getting to his feet.

"Yes!" Randall cries. "These guys took me in! Not just guys, A group of them. Men and woman, kids too like your people. Thought I'd have a better chance with them, you know? But we got out, scavenge just the men. One night we-we found this little campsite. A man and his 2 daughters, teenagers. Real young and Real cute."

Lyla eyebrow rises, and her jaw tightens while Daryl turns around to face him. Lyla knew where exactly it was going to lead.

Randall continues. "Their daddy had to watch while these girls-they didn't even kill him afterwards, they just made him watch as his daughters...They left him there." Randall looks up to see the expression on Lyla and Daryl's face. They were both pissed at where this was going. "But I didn't touch those girls. No, I swear I didn't."

Daryl's hand makes a fist and when he went to go kick Randall, Lyla beat him to the punch...Literally.

"Please...You got to believe me!"

Lyla ignored his cries, and punches him again.

"I'm not like that!" Randall cries.

Lyla strikes him again. At that point, she blocks out his cries.

"You got to believe me!"

Lyla continues to punch the boy in the face. Hearing the story just made her snap. She kept at it until she felt a set of arms around her waist. She gives a kick to Randall's leg, causing him to scream in pain.

Once Daryl got her outside, She removed herself from his grasp. He looks at her as walks away, she tightened her jaw any tighter, it might break her jaw. He soon follows.

"He's got a gang of 30 men." She said walking up to the group.

"They have heavy artillery and they ain't looking to make friends. They roll here, our boys are dead." He says

"And us woman are gonna wish we were." Lyla adds, rubbing her knuckle.

"What'd you do?" Carol asks, looking at Lyla.

"We just had a striking conversation." Lyla answers.

Rick turns to look at the group. "No one goes near this guy."

"Rick, what are you gonna do?" Lori asks.

"We have no choice, he's a threat." Rick answers.

"We have to eliminate the threat." Lori says.

"We're just gonna kill him?" Dale asks, breaking his silence.

"It's settled; I'll do it today." Rick says.

Lyla shakes her head and walks back towards her tent. Her hand was throbbing and she couldn't take the pain anymore.

"Come with me." Daryl says, walking up next to her.

Lyla rolls her eyes and follows Daryl back to his tent. She opens his tent and sits down on his cot.

"What was that?" He asks, walking into the tent.

"What?"

"You lost your cool back there, what was that?" He asks, sternly.

"It's nothing, so can I leave?"

He looks at her hard, and crosses his arms. "Not until you tell me what that was."

She glares at him for a moment then gives a sigh. " I don't know, it just brought me back to when I was younger."

"Care to elaborate?"

She glares at him again, then looks at the ground. "My home life wasn't all rainbows and sunshine. My mom's boyfriend abused my mom in every way possible, which is hard to watch as a kid. She would constantly tell everyone that she had fallen or she ran into something. I just couldn't believe she would cover up for that drunken piece of shit ."

Daryl stares at her, and Lyla continues, "After my mom was beaten to death by that bastard, he somehow became the legal guardian of me and my sister. It came out that he and my mom went to the court house and got married. He would leave me and my sister home to pretty much fend for ourselves just so he could go out with his buddies." Water started to fill Lyla's eyes. "He came home one night, drunk out of his mind. He started shouting and cursing all over the house. I, of course, was cleaning the dishes that me and my sister used for dinner. I might have been about 12 or 13 years old at the time. He stumbled into the kitchen and I could feels his eyes staring at me. He started talking to me in a sweet manor and I'd only respond with very few words."

She wipes the tears from her cheek, and continues. "When I finally told him I was going to bed, he demanded a kiss on the cheek. I refused and tried to get passed him but he'd just block me in. He demanded a kiss on the cheek, and I tried to get away by saying I heard the phone ringing. I make a run for it but he grabs me and throws me to the ground. He gets on top of me and pins my arms down. I began to scream as loud as I could but He kissed me on the lips; making my screams muffled. He tried to slide his tongue in my mouth, but I bit it as hard as I could. He calls me a name then slaps me across my face. I screamed for help over and over and over again but no one came. He threatened to kill me and my sister if I told anyone. "

Daryl looks away for a moment, then looks at a crying Lyla. "Wow." He finally says, filling the silence in the tent.

She looks up at him with her puffy eyes. "Yeah, I guess hearing that story brought that memory back." She said, wiping her tears. "Maybe I should go apologize-"

"No that fucker deserved it," He said, sitting next to her.

"No he didn't. I shouldn't have taken my anger for my mom's ex out on him." She said, looking down at her fingers. "All these years, I put on this bad ass exterior because I'm afraid of getting hurt like that again."

Daryl turns her face towards his, and kisses the top of her forehead. "With me around, you don't ever have to worry about that."


	11. Trials and Tribulations

Dear No One

Chapter 11: Trials and Tribulations

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING but my OC

A/N: Hi Everyone. I would love to give a special shout out to everyone who has favorited and/or followed Dear No One. It's really appreciated. I would love to hear opinions on what you've read so far. I hope to hear from you guys soon.

I would also like to take a poll because the next chapter is the last chapter of the story. Everyone knows the big herd scene and I was wondering...Should I separate Lyla and Daryl or keep the together? I would love to hear from you guys on your opinion.

* * *

"You know I can't sleep alone anymore because of you." Daryl admits. The two were cuddling in his cot, since it really was meant for one person.

"Feeling is mutual." Lyla said with her eyes closed. Usually she wouldn't try to sleep in the middle of the day, but her morning was eventful and drained her energy.

"Fucker." He mumbles.

Lyla giggles, "It's not a bad thing."

"Never said it was."

"Lyla." Dale calls from outside.

Her eyes shoot open and she looks at the exit of the tent. "I guess I'm not taking a nap today." She said, lifting herself up from the Daryl's chest. She gets out of the cot, and opens the tent to see Dale standing there.

"Can I talk to you?" He asks.

"Yeah."

Dale goes to say something then sees Daryl behind her, leaving the tent. "Walk with me."

Lyla looks at Daryl, who sat down on the log with his crossbow, then she nods. She starts walking with Dale next to her. "What's up?"

"Rick is giving me until sun down to talk to everyone about Randall."

Lyla sighs. "Honestly, even after almost beating the shit out of him, I think he's just a scared kid."

"Exactly, and he doesn't deserve to die for it." He said.

"Killing him isn't going to solve anything." She answers. " I mean I was new a few weeks ago and you guys took me in. I worked my ass off and proved I could be trusted."

"You think if we put him to work that he'll gain the trust from everyone?"

She nods. " It worked for me, but we would probably have to convince others of that. If Shane does his usual, then the kid is as good as dead."

"What do you mean 'if Shane does his usual."

Lyla stops in her tracks then sighs. "Shane is nothing but a sneaky bastard, Dale."

"He's dangerous, and I think he killed an old member of ours."

"He did kill him. He shot his knee and left him there for the walkers to get him" Lyla said. "I saw it a couple nights before I brought Sophia back."

Dale looks at her for a moment then at Shane, who is far away from the two...just glaring at them. "Son of a bitch."

{_}

Everyone gathered into the room for the meeting about what to do with Randall. Once Carl was out of earshot, it began.

"How do we do this? Just take a vote?" Glenn asks.

Andrea adds, " Does it have to be unanimous?"

"How about majority rules?" Lori suggests.

Rick gives a sigh. "Well let's see where everyone stand then we can talk through the options."

" Well, where I sit, there's only one way to move forward." Shane said.

"Killing him, right? I mean why bother to even vote? It's clear which way the wind's blowing." Dale said.

"Well if people believe we should spare him, I wanna know." Rick said to Dale.

"I can tell you it's a small group; Maybe me Glenn, and Lyla." Dale looks over at Glenn, who's expression changed. He flipped.

"Look..." Glenn starts. "I-I think you're pretty much right about everything all the time but this-"

Dale interrupts. " They got you scared."

"He's not one of us, and we've lost too many people already." Glenn finishes.

Dale turns to Maggie. "What about you? Do you agree with this?"

"Couldn't we just keep him as a prisoner?" Maggie asks.

Daryl shakes his head. "Another mouth to feed."

"It may be a lean winter." Hershel said.

"We could ration." Lori suggest.

"Well he could be an asset, give him chance to prove himself." Dale said.

"Put him to work?" Glenn suggests.

"We're not letting him walk around." Rick said, shooting down the idea.

"Put an escort on him." Maggie said.

Shane scoffs. "Who wants to volunteer for that duty?"

"I will!" Dale said.

"I don't think any of us should be walking around with this guy."

"He's right." Lori chimes in. " I wouldn't feel comfortable."

"We can't exactly put chains around his ankles and sentence im to hard labor." Andrea said.

Dale looks over at Lyla, who looked lost in her thoughts. "Lyla, tell them what you told me today?"

Lyla leaves her thoughts and looks up at Dale. Everyone's eyes shift in her direction behind next to Glenn. "There's no point on me saying my opinion." She said to Dale.

"You're apart of this group just like the rest of us." He said.

"That's the thing. I'm the latest member of this group if Shane's nickname for me didn't give it away. I came to this farm not that long ago, and I was a stranger just like he is. Is it because I had Sophia that I wasn't a threat to you guys?"

"Lyla-"

Lyla ignores Rick. "No Rick. I could've had a group like his and just used Sophia to find you and rob you of your things for my group. I could've even just robbed you for my own selfish needs. I didn't have an escort or someone standing outside my tent. Everyone here probably questioned Rick's decision to let me stay. Rick trusted me and in return, I worked my ass off to prove to you guys that I could be trusted."

Shane scoffs. " I don't trust you."

She looks over at Shane and gives him a glare. " I don't trust you either, so the feeling is mutual on that Shane." She hissed. She looks at the rest of the group, who is either looking at or or at the floor. "My point is after talking to him , he's just a scared little teenager. Yes, he was apart of a group with 30 or more men, but if they truly wanted him back, they would've came back for him by now. I strongly believe that killing him isn't going to solve a thing but add another body to our hands. Give him a chance, like you did me."

Everyone fell silent and took in Lyla's words. Dale places his hand on her shoulder, and she gives a small smile.

Shane broke the silence. "Look, Say we let him join us, right? Maybe he's helpful, Maybe he's nice. We let our guard down and maybe he runs off, brings back his 30 men."

"So the answer is to kill him to prevent a crime that he may never attempt? If we do this we're saying there's no hope. Rule of law is dead. There's no civilization."

Shane rolls his eyes. "Oh my god."

"Could you drive him further out? Leave him like you planned?" Hershel asked.

"You barely came back this time. There are walkers; you could break down. Y-you could get lost."

"Or ambushed." Daryl adds.

"They're right, we should not put our own people at risk." Glenn said.

"If we go through with it, how would you do it? Would he suffer?" Patricia asks.

Shane shrugs. "We could hang him, right...snap his neck?"

"Thought about that. Shooting may be more humane." Rick said.

"What would we do with the body? Do we bury him?" T-Dog asks.

"Hold on, you're talking about this like it's already decided." Dale said.

Lyla sighs. "Face it, they have."

"You've been talkin' all day. Just wanna go around in circle again?" Daryl said.

"This is a young man's life in our hands! It's worth more than a damn 5-minute conversation." Lyla snaps.

"Is this what it's come to? We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with him? You saved him and now look at us. He's been tortured; He's gonna be executed. How are we better than those people that we're so afraid of?" Dale questions.

The room falls silent once again.

"We all know what needs to be done." Shane finally said.

"No they're right. We can't leave any stone unturned here. We have responsibility"

Andrea cuts him off. "So what's the other solution."

"Let Rick finish." Lori demands.

Andrea ignores her. "We haven't come up with a single viable option yet; I wish we could."

"Let's work on it!" Dale shouts.

"We are!" Rick argues back.

"Stop it; Just stop it!" Carol cries out. "I'm sick of everyone arguing and fighting. I didn't ask for this, you can't ask us to decide on something like this. Please decide either of you, both of you; but leave me out of it."

"Not speaking out or killing him yourself; there's no difference." Dale said to Carol.

"Alright, that's enough. If anyone wants the floor before we make a decision has the chance." Rick said.

Everyone sat there in silence, unsure what to really say.

Dale steps forward. "You once said that we don't kill the living."

"That was before the living tried to kill us." Rick corrects.

"Don't you see? If we do this, the people that were...the world that we knew is dead, and this new world is ugly. It's...harsh. It's...it's survival of the fittest and that's a world I don't want to live in; And I don't believe any of you do. I can't. Please...let's just do this right." The room goes silent again, everyone avoiding eye contact with Dale and Lyla. "Anyone else that's gonna stand with us?"

"He's right." Andrea said, gaining looks from Lyla and Dale. "We should try to find another way."

"Anyone else?" Rick asks. No one answers.

"Are ya'll gonna watch too? No you'll go hide your heads in your tents and try to forget that we're slaughtering a human being. I won't be a party to it." Dale said.

Lyla sighs, and reaches for Dale's shoulder as he walks away. "Dale..."

Dale stops at Daryl. "This group is broken." with that he left the house.

"Dale." Lyla calls, following him.

"There was no point on talking to those people." He mumbles.

"There was a point. We tried to save a kids life, and who knows...Rick might change his mind." She said.

{_}

Night has fallen and it was time to execute the threat. Daryl, Shane, Lyla and Rick walks towards the barn with Randall held in Daryl's grip. Daryl looks over at Lyla, who looks down at the ground with no emotion. On the way over, Randall would constantly ask them to wait or to know where they were going.

Rick opens the barn door, and the four walk inside. He points to a spot in the middle of the barn. "Put him there."

Shane gets behind him with a blindfold ready to be put on him. "It's gonna be over soon..."

"What?What's gonna be over soon?" Randall asks. He looks over at Lyla, who continues to look at the ground.

"Relax." Shane said, placing the blindfold over his eyes. Randall begins to beg and Shane tries to calm him down.

Lyla finally looks up from the ground. "Would you like to kneel or stand?" She asks.

Before the young man could respond, Daryl brings him to his knees. The four of them exchange looks then look at Randall.

"Any last words?" Rick asks.

"No, please. Please don't" Randall cries out.

"Just do it already." Lyla said.

Rick looks over at her then raises his gun to Randall's head. The sound of Randall begging took over the space of the room.

"Do it dad" Everyone looks up to see Carl standing in the doorway. "Do it."

Lyla looks over at Rick, who looks like he's having a hard time.

"Take him away." Rick said, lowering his gun.

Daryl looks at him before lifting Randall to his feet. Shane shoves the other door open and storms off.

"You did the right thing, Rick." Lyla said. "I'm gonna go find Dale."

He gives her a nod, before she walks away.

Lyla walks back towards the camp and starts walking towards the fields. The sound of Dale's scream fills the air.

"Dale!" Lyla sprinted her way towards the scream. When she arrives, she sees a walker on top of Dale, ripping him apart. She kicks he walker off of him and kneels next to him. The walker went to attack but Daryl kills it with his knife.

Lyla blocked out the world around her as she put pressure on the huge wound. Her focus was to keep Dale alive, but she knew it wasn't gonna be for long. "You're crowding him!" She yells.

"Can we carry him back? We need to operate." Rick said.

"He won't make it back. He's lost a large amounth of blood already." Lyla said, pressing her sweatshirt against the wound.

Hershel approaches the group. "What happened?"

"We have to do the operation here." Rick orders.

Hershel looks over at Lyla, who shakes her head. "Rick...He won't make it."

"NO!" Rick screams.

"He's suffering! Do something." Andrea cries.

"I've done all I could, Andrea." Lyla said, continuing to put pressure on the wound. The fabric of the sweatshirt is drenched in blood.

Rick raises his gun, and points it at Dale. His hand is shaky and he didn't look so good.

Daryl reaches for the gun, and Rick releases it. The gun pointed at Dale's head. "Sorry brother."

_POW!_


	12. Survival

Dear No One

Chapter 12: Survival

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING but my OC

A/N: This is the last chapter...I had fun writing this story and I just might do a sequel of post season 3/ Season 3/ Season 4 since it's all at the prison. Do you guys even want a sequel? Anyways, Thank for follows/favorites. Also in the chapter the song that Lyla sang was my inspiration for this story. If you want to find it and listen to it, It's called 'Dear No One' by Tori Kelly. I hope you guys liked my story, and yeah. I want to let you guys know that you're amazeballs. Lol. Here's the last chapter of Dear No One.

* * *

Everyone gathers around the small grave sight. It was the day of Dale's funeral and everyone was sad to see him go. Lyla stood there with Daryl's arm around her with no expression on her face. Staying strong for Dale.

"Dale could get under your skin..He sure got under mine because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought; how he felt. That kinda honesty is rare and brave. Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look at Dale. He'd be looking back at me with this look he had. We've all seen it one time or another. I couldn't always read him but he could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us...the truth, who we really are. In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken. The best way to honor him is to unbreak it. Set aside our differences and pull together, stop feeling sorry for ourselves and take control of our lives, our society, our future. We're not broken. We're gonna prove him wrong. From no on, we're gonna do it his way. That is how we honor Dale."

* * *

Lyla zips up her duffle bag and walks out of Daryl's tent. She moved her things into his tent a week before since she sleeps in there anyways.

"I put your things in my duffle bag." She said, putting the strap over her shoulder.

"Thanks." Daryl started taking down the tent.

Lyla walks the bag over towards the truck. She steps onto the bed and places the bag down. She grabs the bins that were being handed to her and placing them neatly in the back.

"Gonna be tight with 16 people in the house." Rick said to Hershel.

"Don't worry about that; With the swamp hardening, the lake drying up..."

"With 50 head of cattle on the property, we might as well ring a damn dinner bell." Maggie finishes.

Hershel nods. "She's right, we should've moved you in a while ago."

"Alright let's move the vehicles near each of the doors facing towards the road. We'll build a look-out in the windmill and another in the barn loft. That would give us sight lines on both sides." Rick said, as everyone moved around him. He looks over at T-Dog, who hands Lyla a bag. "T-Dog, you take the perimeter around the house. Keep rack of everyone coming in or out."

"What about standing guard?" He asks.

"I need you, Lyla and Daryl on duty." Rick answers.

Lyla hops off the bed of the truck and closes it. She walks over to the camaro and turns it on. She drives it to the front door facing the road. She gets out and see Rick with Hershel next him walking her way.

"Lyla...When I'm out with Daryl, help Hershel keep an eye on things around here." Rick said.

"Shane isn't gonna like that." She said, closing the driver door.

"Well Shane has a way to let things get out of hand; especially when he's all torqued up. Besides, I know you can put him in his place if need be."

She smirks. "Damn right." She follows the two into the home, and everyone is getting settled in. Lyla places her bag under Daryl's cot, which was set up in the dining room. She looks up to see Daryl walking in her direction.

"I don't know about this." He said as soon as he approached her.

"Don't know about what?" Lyla asks.

"Rick asked me to go with him to take Randall out."

She chuckles."You're worried about a kid, who probably weighs the same if not less than me?"

He gives her a look. "No, I'm worried about Shane."

"Think he'll try something?" She asks, crossing her arms.

"Maybe."

"I'll keep an eye on him."

Daryl shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He presses his lips against her forehead.

"Daryl," Rick calls. The couple look over at him. "It's time."

Lyla looks up at Daryl. "Be safe." She said, softly.

He nods and kisses her forehead one last time before leaving her there. She sits down on the newly made cot.

"You and Daryl a thing?" Lori asks, entering the room.

"Really Lori?"

"What? You guys are all cuddled up and he's kissing your head. It's nice to seeing this side of both you." She said.

"To be honest, I don't know what we are. With everything going on, I haven't really thought about our relationship. All I know is that he cares about me, and I care about him too." Lyla answers.

"Why don't you ask him?" Lori teased.

"Maybe I will once things die down." Next thing you know, yells from outside perked the women's ears. They share a look before heading outside. Everyone was crowded by the shed.

"What's going on?" Lori asks.

"Randall's missing."

"What? How long has he been gone for?" Lyla questions.

"It's hard to say." Hershel answers.

"Cuffs are still hooked; he must've slipped them" Rick said.

"Is that even possible?" Carol asks.

Andrea steps from inside the shed. "It is if you have nothing to lose."

"The door was secured from the outside." Hershel points out.

"Rick, Rick!" Shane yells, appearing from the woods.

"What happened?" Lori asks.

"He's armed. He's got my gun!" Shane shouts.

"Are you okay?" Carl asks.

"I'm fine; Little bastard snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face!"

"Alright, Hershel, T-Dog and Lyla get everyone back in the house. Glenn, Daryl come with us." Rick orders.

"T., I'mm need that gun." Shane said, walking towards T-Dog.

"Just let him go. That was the plan wasn't it, to let him go?" Carol pulls Sophia close to her.

"Plan was to cut him loose far away from here, not on our front step with a gun." Rick said.

"Don't go out there. Ya'll know what can happen!" Carol argues.

"Get everyone back in the house, lock all the doors and stay put!" Rick orders.

Lyla nods. "You heard the man." The group starts making their way back towards the house. Once everyone was in the house, Lyla and T-Dog went around the house locking all of the doors.

* * *

Lyla watched as Carl and Sophia tried playing the Glenn's guitar. They kept trying to play a song, but it just wasn't coming out right. She got out of her seat and walked over to the children.

"Teaching yourself how to play?" She said, sitting in one of the dining chairs.

"Yeah, but it doesn't sound so good." Carl said.

"Yeah, it's worse when I try." Sophia adds.

Lyla chuckles. "Can I try?"

Carl gives a nod and hands her the guitar. She positions it and starts playing it.

"I like being independent; not too much of an investment, no one to tell me what to do. " Lyla sang . "I like being myself don't got to entertain anybody else, no one to answer to."

She continued. "But sometimes I just want somebody to hold, someone to give their jacket when it's cold. Have that young love even when we're old. Sometimes I want to grab my hand, pick me, hold me close, be my man. I will love you til the end. " She sang. "So if you're out there, I swear to be good to you; But I'm done looking for my future someone. 'Cause when the time is right you'll be here but for now, Dear no one; this is your love song."

Claps erupt through the room causing Lyla to jump. She looked around to see her audience and bowed.

" That was awesome." Carl exclaimed.

"Thank you, Carl." She playfully ruffed up his hat hair.

{_}

Minutes turned into hours. Night has fallen and the group still wasn't back. Everyone trying to keep their minds off of it, but they couldn't help but worry. T-Dog and Lyla would take turns looking out the window for them.

"We have to go after them." Andrea said, getting up from her spot.

Lyla places the car down on the table."He said stay put. They'll be back." She assures, not believing her own words. Daryl often made his way into her mind. She didn't want him hurt nor dead. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she fell for him...hard. The sound of a gunshot is heard, taking her out of her thoughts. She looks over at the door and grabs her gun from the table. "I'm going to go find them."

"Lyla," T-Dog calls.

She ignores him, and opens the front door. There was Daryl with Glenn right behind him.

"Where are you going?" Daryl asks.

"We heard a gunshot. I was gonna go find you guys. " She answers.

"That wasn't you?" Glenn asks.

Lyla shook her head. "We thought it was you."

Daryl walked past Lyla. "Rick and Shane ain't back?"

Lori shook her head. "No,"

"We heard a shot and thought it was you guys." Daryl said.

"Maybe they found Randall." Lori suggests.

Daryl shook his head. "We found Randall."

"Is he back in the shed?" Maggie asks.

"He's a walker."

"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel asks.

"No, the weird thing is he wasn't bit." Glenn answers.

"His neck was broke." Daryl adds.

"He fought back." Patricia said.

"Thing is Shane and Randall tracks were right on top of each others; Shane ain't no tracker, so he didn't come up behind him; they were together." Daryl informs.

"Shane took him out." Lyla said, shaking her head.

Lori walks up to Daryl. "Would you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane and find out what on earth is going on?" She asks.

"You got it." Daryl says.

"Thank you."

Daryl and Glenn walks out the back door with Lyla not too far behind. Their eyes go wide.

"Holy shit." Lyla curses.

Coming there way was a heard of maybe hundreds of walkers. Where did they come from?

Hershel turns to Patricia. "Patricia kill the lights."

"Get the guns." Lyla said, her eyes still glued to the herd.

"Maybe they're just passing like the herd on the highway. Should we just go inside?" Glenn asks.

"No unless there's a tunnel downstairs; I don't know about that. A heard that size would rip the house down." Daryl answers.

"We got to get out of here." Lyla said.

Lori came running out of the house. "Carl's gone."

"What?" Daryl and Lyla say in unison.

"He-he was upstairs. I can't find him anymore." Lori cries.

"Maybe he's hiding." Glenn suggests.

"He's suppose to be upstairs. I'm not leaving without my boy!"

"We're not." Carol said.

"Mom, I'm scared." Sophia cries out.

"Come help look for Carl." Carol said, guiding her into the house.

Andrea brings the bag of guns outside and everyone reaches in. Maggie hands Glenn a gun.

"Maggie?"

"You grow up country, you pick up a thing or two." She said, loading her gun.

"I got the numbers, it's no use." Daryl said.

"You guys can go if you want." Hershel said, loading his shotgun.

Daryl looks over at Hershel. "You're gonna take them all on?"

"We have gun, we have cars." Hershel answers.

"Kill as many as you can." Andrea said.

Lyla loads her Barrett REC7. "That's the plan. We'll just use the cars to lead the rest of them off the farm. If we get seperated, meet at the highway; No one gets left behind!" She said.

"You serious?" Daryl asks.

Hershel nods. "It's my farm, I'll die here."

"Alright. It's a good a night as any." Daryl hopped over the banister and Lyla followed. The two were walking over towards his motorcyle. "You ready?"

She gets on the back of the bike."Let's do this."

Daryl nods and gets onto his bike. He turns it on and starts riding around. Lyla is shooting from the back of the bike.

"Keep her steady." She said, shooting.

The shooting continued and nothing was happening. It's like the herd was getting bigger.

"We gotta go." Daryl said.

Lyla gives a nod, and turns around to see Carol waving her arms in the air. "Hold on!" Once the bike comes to stop, she hops off and runs to Carol.

"I can't find Sophia!" Carol cries.

"Carol, we've got to go." Lyla said.

"I can't leave my baby." She yells.

Lyla looks at Daryl then at Carol. "I'll find her, now get out of here." The two ran back to Daryl, who is patiently waiting. "Daryl, take Carol out of here."

"I'm not leaving you!" Daryl said.

Lyla quickly pulls Daryl in and presses her lips against his. She pulls away and looks him in his eyes. "Go! I'll see you at the highway!"

"We gotta go." Carol said.

Lyla runs through the crowd, shooting and keeping an eye out for Sophia. "Sophia!"

"Lyla!" Sophia screams.

Lyla follows the screams and there was Sophia standing there. She runs over to her, but not fast enough for a walker to bite her arm. Lyla shoots the walkers nearby and grabs Sophia. Making her way through the crowd of walkers, holding Sophia close. "Sophia, Fight it!"

"I can't." She cries out.

Lyla makes it to the camaro and they two quickly get into the car, and Lyla leans down to grab the wires. It was sparking, but the car wasn't turning on. "Come the fuck on!" She tries one more time and the car comes back to life. She places the car into drive, running over the walkers in her way. "Sophia, fight it! You can fight it!"

"I can't." She cries, holding her bloody arm.

"Put pressure on it. We're gonna get you back with your mom." Lyla said, trying to hold back her tears.

"I never told my mom."

Lyla looks over at Sophia. "What?"

"I never told my mom that you taught me how to shoot a gun." Sophia said.

Lyla smiles. "Sophia, I want to thank you. If I didn't find you, I probably would've lost my mind and probably got myself killed. Maybe I would've killed myself to avoid this mess. I became my old self again when I joined your group. I also met an amazing guy, who I might love. " She looks over and Sophia's eyes were closed. Lyla reaches over and feels for a pulse. There wasn't one. She stops the car, and puts it into park. She lays her head on the wheel and tears streaming down her face.

* * *

"Where'd you find everyone?" Rick asks looking at Daryl.

"Well, Those guys tail lights zigzagging all over the road...Figured he had to be Asian driving like that." Daryl said.

Glenn chuckles nervously. "Ha, Good one."

"Where's the rest of us?" Daryl asks.

"We're the only ones who made it so far." Rick said.

Lori rises to her feet. "Shane?"

Rick shakes his head.

"Andrea?" Glenn questions.

"She was with me then I lost her." Carol said.

"We saw her go down." T-Dog said, hanging off the truck door.

"Patricia?"

Beth starts to get teary eyed. "They got her too, Took her right in front me...I was-I was holding onto her, Daddy. She just-" Her voice started to break. "What about Jimmy? Did you see him?"

"He was in the RV; it got overrun."

"You definitely saw Andrea?" Carol asks.

"Where's Lyla?" Carl asks.

"She went back to find Sophia." Carol said.

Daryl's expression changed. He looked like he wanted to break down.

"She saved me." Carol adds.

"Do you think she got out?" Glenn asks.

"There were walkers everywhere." Lori said.

Daryl reaches for his bike. "I'm gonna head back."

"No..." Rick said, stopping him.

"And why not?" Daryl's tone started to grow higher.

"We don't even know if she's there." Lori said.

Daryl kicks the side of his bike and storms off. He knew it was too good to be true. He finally liked someone, and she was just yanked away. First Merle, now Lyla.

Rick walks up to him. "Daryl, we've gotta go. We have to get to somewhere safe." He said.

Daryl wipes his eyes, and looks at Rick. "Fine."

The group got into their vehicles and left the area.

{_}

The group stopped on a country road, due to lack of gas. Night had fallen and there was still no sign of Lyla. Rick revealed what happened with Shane, and everyone is on edge.

Daryl tosses a few broken sticks into the fire.

"We're not safe with him" Carol whispers to Daryl. "Keeping something like that from us. Why do you need him, He's just gonna pull you down."

"No. Rick has done good by me." Daryl answers.

"You're his henchman, and I'm a burden." Carol said. "You deserve better."

Daryl finally looks over at Carol. "What do you want?"

Carol meets his gaze. "A man of honor."

"Rick has honor." Daryl tosses the remaining sticks into the fire.

Maggie looks over at Carol, then at Glenn. "I think we should take our chances."

"Don't be foolish. There's no food, no fuel, no ammo." Hershel points out.

Leaves start to russle in the distance.

"What was that?" Beth asks.

"Could be anything." Daryl said, getting his crossbow ready. "Could be a raccoon, could be a possum."

"Walker?" Glenn adds.

Everyone is at there feet, ready for whatever comes their way.

"We need to leave." Carol cries. "What are we waiting for?"

"Which way?" Glenn asks.

Maggie points to the direction from which they came. "It came from over there."

"Back from where we came?" Beth asks.

Maggie nods. "Yeah."

"Last thing we need is for everyone to be running off in the dark."Rick said. "We don't have the vehicles. No one is traveling on foot."

Another branch snaps.

"Don't panic." Hershel said.

"I'm not-I'm not gonna sit here and wait for another herd to blow through." Maggie said, gripping onto her gun. "We need to move now."

"No one is going anywhere." Rick threatens.

"Do something." Carol said.

"I am doing something" Rick snaps at her. "I'm keeping this group together...alive! I've been doing that all along, no matter what. I didn't ask for this! I killed my best friend for you people for christ sake!"

Everyone looked at Rick.

"You saw how he was, how he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us. He staged the whole Randall thing; Led me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice. He was my friend, but he came after me."

Carl falls into his mother's arm and starts crying.

"My hands are clean." Rick continues. He looks around to see no one looking him in the face. "Maybe you people are better off without ahead; I say there's a place for us, But maybe-Maybe that's a pipe dream. Maybe-Maybe I'm fooling myself again. Why don't- Why don't you go find out for yourselves. Send me a postcard. Go on, there's the door. You can do better? Let's see how far you get."

Everyone sat there in silence, frightened by Rick's tone and words.

"No takers? Now let's get this straight, You're staying; this isn't a democracy anymore." Rick looks at everyone and turns to walk away only to walk into Lyla. "Lyla?"

"Lyla!" Carl runs towards her, and hugs her waist. She was covered in blood, and she hugs him back.

"Carl." She finally said. Everyone came over to hug her except Daryl.

"You got out?" Beth said.

"Barely." She said, hugging Beth.

"Where's Sophia?" Carol asks as she goes to hug her.

Lyla looks over at Carol, and her expression weakens. She gives a sigh. "She was bitten on the arm. I tried to save her."

Carol's face scrunches up then the tears follow. "My baby."

"I'm sorry, Carol." Lyla holds Carol tight as she cried. Lyla looks past everyone to see Daryl.

Lori takes Carol, and gives Lyla a nod. Lyla slowly walks over to Daryl then runs into his arms. Embracing his body against hers as he did the same. He pulls apart and the two press their lips together.

"Don't ever do that shit again!" He said into her hair as he held her close.

She chuckles and digs her nose into his neck. "I love you."

"Love you too." He whispered in return.


End file.
